Theorizing Indigeneity, Gender, and Settler Colonialism

Indigenous Feminisms: Disturbing Colonialism in Environmental Science Partnerships

“…Although many specifics vary, including timelines of Euro-Western invaders, North American Indigenous peoples have in common ongoing colonialism coupled with profound environmental changes (Bacon 2019; Hall and Fenelon 2009; Hoover 2017; Norgaard and Reed 2017; Whyte 2014). Prior to colonial onslaughts, some tribes were matrilineal, and women often had influence over collective political and economic decision-making, not only in domestic affairs (Denetdale 2006; Goeman and Denetdale 2009; Meissner and Whyte 2017). Pressures have been placed on Native Nations to adopt patriarchal and bureaucratic forms of governance as means to disrupt Indigenous societies, women’s influences outside the home, and negotiated land-tenure systems (Denetdale 2006; Green 2007).…”

“…Recent scholarship on race and ethnicity has opened wider theoretical debates about settler colonialism within sociology (Fenelon 2016; Fenelon and Trafzer 2014; McKay forthcoming; Norgaard and Reed 2017; Norgaard et al 2018; Robertson 2015; Steinman 2016). Indigenous sociologists and Indigenous feminist scholars address connections between racialization, colonialism, disenfranchisement, and patriarchy as foundational to understanding reproductions of unequal social relations (e.g., Arvin et al 2013; Goeman and Denetdale 2009; Hall and Fenelon 2009; Meissner and Whyte 2017). This article is a response to recent calls for sociological studies on settler colonialism and attempts to dismantle oppression in everyday practice (Fenelon 2016; Glenn 2015).…”

“… 1. My uses of “Indigenous,” “Native American,” “American Indian,” “Native Nations,” and “tribes” are not interchangeable, nor do these encompass specific terms that Indigenous peoples use for themselves. Although fuller discussion of Native American identity and belonging is beyond the scope of this article, see Lawrence (2004), TallBear (2013), Montgomery (2017), Meissner and Whyte (2017), and McKay (forthcoming). …”

“…Indigenous peoples have long argued that decolonization work must focus on original values such as relational reciprocity and inclusion of all ages and genders (Denetdale 2006; Green 2007; Kimmerer 2015; McGregor 2004; Smith 2012; Whyte 2014). Indigenous feminist scholarship calls into question notions of tradition that originate from and bolster settler colonial intents (Arvin et al 2013; Goeman and Denetdale 2009; Meissner and Whyte 2017). Entrenched inequalities in ecological sciences remain an ongoing problem, while dominant climate change discourses tend not to focus on such critical questions (Cameron 2012; Marino 2012; Whyte 2014).…”

Uprooting Narratives: Legacies of Colonialism in the Neoliberal University

“…Rather, indigenous peoples understand themselves to have emerged as coherent groups and cultures in intimate relationships with particular places, especially living and sacred landscapes. (TallBear 2013, 510)The conflict between these genetic notions of identity and more holistic ones is more than a disagreement about ways of interpreting the same thing; it has a larger role in colonizing processes and attitudes: “For indigenous peoples all over the world, racial identities such as ‘Indian blood’ are woven into colonial fabrics that seek to impose oppressive versions of ‘Indigeneity’ on Indigenous peoples” (Meissner and Whyte 2017, 152). Furthermore, scientists and universities have disproportionate power, and the narratives they tell often inform policy and livelihoods: “[i]n arenas in which indigenous people and scientists are invested, scientific activities are often granted exclusive jurisdiction over knowledge production, with indigenous contributions and critiques understood as ‘political’ superstructure” (TallBear 2013, 510).…”